Are Indian hockey’s glory days back for good? Well, maybe not just yet, but as former Indian centre-forward and two time Olympian, Jagbir Singh says – fan sentiment is beginning to go back to the old days, when one medal from Indian men’s hockey was as good as assured at an Olympic Games. That’s the impact the Paris Games bronze, the
first time India has won back-to-back medals at the Olympics since 1972, has had.
The Indian men’s hockey team, after the high of winning consecutive bronze medals at the Olympics, will begin their next Olympic cycle and also life in the post-PR Sreejesh era with the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy in China, where they will go in as the defending champions. The key, as Jagbir Singh points out, is to continue to be consistent and not let the momentum built up in Paris fizzle out.
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At the same time, the major stakeholders of Indian hockey will also have to keep studying the areas of improvement – some of which became very clear at the Paris Olympics. The win vs Australia was a big high and a historic achievement and then it was a heroic effort to defend with 10 men against Great Britain and eventually win in a shoot-out. But the results could have very easily been very different. As Jagbir Singh points out, the team played their best hockey against Germany in the semi-final – a match they eventually lost.
So, what did Indian men’s hockey do well at the Olympics? What are the areas of improvement? How much will Indian hockey miss PR Sreejesh? Just how good was captain Harmanpreet Singh at the Olympics? How big a surprise was it to see the mighty Aussies, who had beaten India 5-0 in a bilateral Test series earlier this year, go out tamely at the Olympics?
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We spoke to Arjuna awardee and two-time Asian Games medallist, Jagbir Singh about all this and more.
Excerpts.
Another successful campaign for the Indian men’s hockey team at the Olympics. This time in fact they were in the ‘group of death’. Back-to-back bronze medals for the team. The first time that has happened since the 1968 and 1972 editions…Your take on two successive hockey medals at the Olympics.
Jagbir Singh: This is a very welcome bronze medal, especially because the team managed to win back-to-back medals at the Olympics. This medal (won in Paris) will endorse the fact that Indian hockey is back on the road to glory, just like the old days.
Winning the bronze medal was of course a huge achievement, but if you ask me, I felt another big achievement was beating Australia in the pool stage. I remember talking to you ahead of the Games and you had said that the boys will have to put in their 120% in that match. To beat the Aussies for the first time in 52 years at the Olympics…What was your first reaction and how sweet did that win feel?
Jagbir Singh: The win against Australia was the turning point for the Indian men’s hockey team at this Olympics. It wasn’t just that we beat them (Australia) after a gap of 52 years, but also overcame the hammering of the 0-5 Test series loss against them in Australia earlier this year. This match (win vs Australia at the Paris Olympics) gave us confidence and also a psychological edge over the other opponents because the other teams realised the attacking power of Indian hockey. In the first two quarters of the match vs Australia, the Aussies came out all guns blazing, but we defended very well and fortunately, we scored at the right time, in the first quarter. And the Indian team maintained their consistency throughout.
Also, once the Australians were beaten and then Great Britain were held and then beaten in a shoot-out, despite India being down to 10 men in the quarters, I at that time thought that India were looking good for the gold medal. Did you also get that feeling?
Jagbir Singh: Not really at that time, because against Great Britain I think we were lucky to survive with 10 men (defender Amit Rohidas was shown a red card). Great Britain were playing very well, they had nine penalty corners against India and the number of circle penetrations they had was far, far more. But thanks to great goalkeeping by Sreejesh, some fantastic penalty corner defence, and the calmness and composure shown by all the players, except that unfortunate incident involving Amit Rohidas (red card). I would say, for India the main match was against Germany. In many ways, they played their best against Germany.
So, did you expect India to lose to Germany in the semi-finals? Was that in many ways an upset?
Jagbir Singh: No. I did not. It was an upset. In the first two quarters against Germany, I remember, India played fantastic hockey. We had a great start, and were far more consistent in circle penetrations, even though they (Germany) had more open chances. We had around 10 or more penalty corner chances (India converted two of eleven PCs). We were so unlucky, with 3.2 seconds left on the clock, when Shamsher had that deflection shot, which didn’t go into the goal. Had that ball gone into the goal, we would have gone into a shoot-out for sure. It would have been 3-3. It was a very, very close match. India really dominated the first two quarters. That was the most consistent match we played, I would say. We even defended one penalty corner without a goalkeeper. It was just really unlucky.
When this match started, I felt that this Indian team would be changing the colour of the medal (from the Tokyo 2021 Games) for sure. It was a heartbreak, honestly, it was a heartbreak. And talking about the match against Great Britain, which was very important – we played with 10 players, we defended very well and once we played with 10 players and defended 1-1, I was 100% sure that we’d got this match in the bag, because they were shattered, because they couldn’t believe that they could lose this match, despite having such an upper hand. And that gave India a very big psychological advantage going into the shootout. We felt ‘ab hamein koi nahin hara sakta’ (now nobody can beat us). We defended with 10 men and then in the shootout, we had Sreejesh and the confidence that Sreejesh displayed in these Games, not many goalkeepers can match that.
I wanted to talk to you about the Indian manpower angle. Wanted to start with Harmanpreet, who was the only specialist drag-flicker in the Indian team. Did the team miss a second specialist drag-flicker? How much of an impact did that have? Harmanpreet of course finished as the highest goal scorer in the tournament, with 10 goals…
Jagbir Singh: The main sarpanch sahaab (captain Harmanpreet Singh) deserves all the credit he gets. Despite shouldering the pressure and expectations of being the only drag-flicker in the team, he not only became the highest scorer, but he also managed to score when the team needed it the most. Harmanpreet was excellent in defence and played like a leader. He played like a captain who takes everybody along with him. Very few captains have this quality that Harmanpreet displayed in these Olympic Games. Dedicating the medal to Sreejesh, saying ‘whatever we win, it’s for Sreejesh’, his aerial passes to Jarmanpreet Singh, broke the defensive plans of most teams. They were such accurate passes. Not too many teams can execute those and not too many players can think about doing it. He was under pressure but managed to convert. However one could argue that the overall PC conversion rate wasn’t great.
It’s not just Harmanpreet, but the entire defensive planning that went into studying other teams. The overall penalty corner conversion rate fell, compared to other tournaments (India scored 9 goals from the 53 penalty corners they were awarded at the Paris Olympics, which was the most for any men’s team in Paris). I am sure Craig will definitely work on this. Previously we also had Varun Kumar as a specialist drag-flicker, in the last Olympics. Whenever we have two drag-flickers on the field, the team will look very different and will also give Harmanpreet a breather, which he really needed in Paris. He was on the field for the maximum number of minutes compared to the other Indian players.
A word on PR Sreejesh now. He had already announced before the Games that he would be retiring from international hockey after these Olympics, so the whole team in a way knew that they had an extra motivation, if I can call it that, to win a medal. And he himself had such a fantastic tournament, proving yet again how he was the ‘Great wall of India’. Your take on Sreejesh’s career, that ends with two Olympic medals and the way the curtain came down on it…
Jagbir Singh: It was a fairytale farewell for Sreejesh. Hockey India did a fabulous job this time. I can’t think of any other Indian sport where they bid farewell to a hero in such fashion. They organised a farewell function. And there were so many people who came, with players wearing jerseys with Sreejesh’s name on them. It spoke volumes about the emotional connection he had with all the players. Sreejesh has been a leader right from the day he was given the captaincy responsibilities (July 2016). Even when he was not the captain, you could hear Sreejesh shouting instructions from the goalpost. That was because of his commitment, and his involvement in the game and it was the same in each and every moment that the ball came into the D. When a defender knows that he has a goalkeeper like Sreejesh, it would count for two players, not one, thanks to the agility and the game reading abilities that Sreejesh has. He (Sreejesh) could block shots at the goal, be it in a one-to-one situation, be it back-to-back attempts, or back-to-back penalty corners.
This guy was just full of energy. He was never tired, never inattentive, despite the fact that he knew that this was his last tournament. Not for one second did we get the sense that Sreejesh thought that his job was over. I have not seen this quality in any other goalkeeper or player. I remember the Argentinian goalkeeper Vivaldi (Juan Manuel Vivaldi), who retired at the age of 42. I remember how he played right from the time he was a youngster and how he helped the Argentina team win the 2016 Olympic gold medal. But Sreejesh is different. His sense of humour, the fact that he enjoys every moment on the field, and the fact that he understands what is happening at all times on the field, make him stand out.
And now that he has
decided to be a coach, he will give his players his everything. He is not just a star goalkeeper who draws viewers, he is also a great human being who is iconic. The way he talks about other athletes, the way he could forget what happened yesterday and focus on the task at hand, these are all qualities that he has. Indian hockey will miss him for sure.
Another thing that I wanted to talk to you about – the five Olympic debutants that the Indian men’s team featured this time in Paris. What did you make of them, who impressed you the most and why?
Jagbir Singh: All of them, really. Abhishek’s strike – the goal he scored against Australia. Jarmanpreet – I was so impressed to see this young man holding his spot, so tightly, even in the absence of Amit Rohidas against Germany. He was a bit under pressure, but he didn’t let it show. I would also say that Sukhjeet was excellent inside the circle and also when he had to dodge past a few players. I would say all the debutants were impressive. Raj Kumar Pal – the goal he scored against Great Britain in the shootout – how many players can score a similar goal? The typical Uttar Pradesh hockey skills, brilliant. This kind of play showed the confidence in this young brigade and these debutants and then add an Olympic medal to that mix. But overall, it was the whole team that clicked, not just the debutants, but also the senior players. Be it Sumit – working overtime in defence, Amit Rohidas – excellent penalty corner defence, Manpreet, Hardik – again superb.
Where does Indian hockey go from here? Overall, in the world rankings India are fifth, currently. But now they are also back to winning regular Olympics medals, so in LA 2028 there will be a lot of expectations of course, but in the immediate future, what would you like to see the team do, because it’s extremely important that the momentum generated in Paris doesn’t fizzle out…
Jagbir Singh: Consistency will be the main factor. We are playing the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) in China next, which will see a good mix of juniors and a few seniors in the squad (many seniors are likely to be rested. India are the defending champions). India should aim to win this tournament. Then there is a Test series vs Germany in October. There will be the baggage of expectations on the shoulders of all the Indian hockey players. How well they can manage to handle that will determine a lot. The earlier era is over. A new era is upon us. Back-to-back Olympic medals is not a joke. They have once again proved that Indian hockey is something that is great to watch. The belief that one medal at the Olympics is assured via hockey is now back again. But there will still be many hurdles and challenges. These will start, probably from the Asian Games in two years’ time (in Japan, in 2026), also the Commonwealth Games (in 2026), which has been one of the toughest challenges for India, we have never won that title. And of course, the men’s World Cup in 2026.
We did win an Olympic medal in Tokyo after 41 years, but then the outing at a home World Cup was well below par, there were a few heads that rolled, including that of players. That should not be the case anymore. When you come out of one tournament, you forget it and go on to the next, but don’t forget what the drawbacks were or what the strengths were. Apart from celebrating the Paris bronze, the lessons that should be learnt from these Games are that we have conceded a lot of penalty corners, we allowed many circle penetrations, there were many unforced errors, but it was the fighting spirit that took Indian hockey and the team to the podium and that spirit has to be kept alive.
Also work on the areas of improvement, which the coaches and the support staff must have identified, very meticulously. If you look at the top teams now in the world – at the moment, Holland, Germany, Belgium, India, Australia and let’s count Great Britain also – we have to analyse the errors committed by these teams and the efficiency that they bring to the table – and the results will start showing.
Your take on coach Craig Fulton and his role in the Olympics. Now that we have seen him in an entire edition of the Games, what was your impression?
Jagbir Singh: He was a great companion on the field for the team. He was a great analytic advisor, when the team needed it the most. He was like a young boy, running onto the field when India won the bronze medal. He was the first one to lift up Sreejesh. His excitement showed that he has the hunger and he knows what he has to bring to Indian hockey and he knows that this team can win. His focus on the defence, saying ‘I want to defend well’ is very welcome. I am sure he will have all the figures which show how well we have defended and how much we need to get back to our old attacking self, which was missing in the Olympics, even against Spain (bronze medal match).
They got more penalty corners than us, their circle penetrations were also more than ours. We defended well, that’s good. So, Craig Fulton’s aim was achieved – defend well and win. I am sure he will make the changes required in time to come. One big target that we had, that has been achieved, so he will be more confident. He is a good guy. I met him, I spoke with him. He has been a good player himself and now he understands Indian hockey and the system much better.
Were you surprised to see the last two teams standing for the gold medal – The Netherlands and Germany and then Netherlands, who beat Australia in the quarters, going on to win the gold – their first gold since Sydney 2000 and their first medal overall in men’s hockey since London 2012…
Jagbir Singh: Yes, I was, because I was expecting India to be in the final, after watching how India started their match vs Germany. I was also surprised to see how Australia and Belgium were pushed aside. This was also another reason why the intensity in the final, the open game that we were expecting from the European teams was somewhat missing because these two teams were playing in a defensive mode.
In that context, what did you make of the overall standard of hockey that was on display at the Paris Games, in the men’s competition? The Dutch of course won the gold, but which team were you most impressed with?
Jagbir Singh: I was impressed with the Indian team for sure. Despite all odds, despite not being one of the favourites, they finished on the podium. Honestly, from the way the FIH Pro League progressed, and then going into the Olympics, not many knew what to expect from India in the pool games. But then as they gradually progressed, beat Australia, I was impressed with how they played. The overall quality of hockey in the Olympics was excellent. In terms of viewership, packed stadiums, it was superb. Hockey was at its best. But overall, if Australia and Belgium pushed a little bit more, things could have been different. But, in terms of the overall response to hockey in France, where hockey is not a very popular sport, I was very impressed. In women’s hockey, I was expecting the Netherlands to win (gold medal), because they have a very, very dominant side.
This is something that I wanted to discuss with someone who understands the game inside out – Did Australia’s early ouster surprise you? They didn’t medal in Rio in 2016, which was the last time they didn’t win a medal at the Olympics, but were silver medallists last time in Tokyo…In Paris, they lost to India, then went out in the quarter-finals, losing to the Dutch. What went wrong for the Kookaburras this time, you think? Did they change anything about the way they play, before the Games, or was it just a simple case of the pieces not falling into place for them in Paris?
Jagbir Singh: Yes. I think sometimes the pieces don’t fall into place. Also, once they lost to India in the pool stage, it was difficult for them to come back. The psychological factor is a big factor these days. Compared to earlier. When any of the top teams, who consider themselves to be super-powers lose like this, it’s very difficult for them to overcome that. Australia didn’t look like the team which we saw in previous tournaments. It was just not happening for them. Even if you look at the penalty corners – how many penalty corners did they get against India? Not many. Four or five maybe? And they could only convert one. And overall, also, even though they have been leaders in men’s hockey for decades, they have only one Olympic gold medal (won in Athens in 2004).
Overall, what are your thoughts in terms of India’s overall Olympic campaign this time in Paris? Six medals, could have easily been twelve, with six fourth-place finishes. What did you think of India’s performance in Paris?
Well, sports like badminton and wrestling – we expected more medals. Shooting – India is always a strong force. It was a surprise for me that we didn’t win more medals in shooting. In archery also, I was expecting better results. Coming so close and then falling short, makes one realise how important it is to have a mental conditioning coach. This is why Indian hockey had appointed one of the best guys in the business (
mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton). Then before the Olympics, they went to Switzerland (for a three-day mental conditioning camp). Usually, a trip like this happens after, to celebrate. It’s about how you prepare your players mentally. Every day, before a match or after, a player keeps thinking about his or her performance – was it good, bad, average. He or she has to face multiple challenges every minute and they have to deal with everything both on and off the field. So, I think we could have done much better in the Olympics in Paris. We have the potential to do much better. We just need to work on these small things. We were really so close (to winning medals) in so many disciplines.
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